Thoughts and Reflections

The Week After Easter

Psalm 119:147

I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.

Easter 2019 has come and gone. Lent was a powerful time this year for me. Holy Week was amazing. I loved the Seder meal and the Good Friday service. Easter Sunrise service is always special for me – I’ve only missed one in my adult life that I can remember. I loved sharing that time with my father when possible. I loved the hill behind Mt. Zion with the benches and three crosses and the sun rising over the hill – the pavilion at Mt. Oak (with the cross in the field) – and the prayer garden at First Church – just to name the last three churches I’ve served. Each holds many special memories.

On Easter morning I usually arise around 4 am. Sunrise this year was at 6:20 am so we started our service at 6 am. I know that some of our men and women – some of my friends – wake that early or earlier on a regular basis. One of my son-in-laws gets up that early most every day to go to work. It is not my usual time to rise though. As a matter of fact – there have been nights I haven’t gone to sleep until that time! My normal time to rise is 6:00 am or thereabouts. By that time we were starting worship on Easter morning. It was a powerful morning – we had a great time worshiping God. We invited other churches and the community to join us. The sun rising will remind us that the Son rose.

How do you start your mornings – your regular mornings. Do you start them before or after dawn – after the sun has risen? The passage today says: I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. Whatever time you rise – I pray we put our hope – our first thoughts – on God. Let us read His Word – spend time in prayer – sit and listen for God to speak to our heart. It will help start our day on the right note! I know it works because it works for me – try it! This will be one tool that we can use to focus our thoughts – our day – on Jesus.

As we move beyond this year’s Easter service – let us continue our focus on Jesus. Let’s not fade into the woodwork of life and pull away from our attention to the risen Lord. Easter is everyday – as I wrote yesterday. Let’s begin each day focusing our attention on Jesus – not the latest scores or other news. Spend time with Jesus each morning and it will help to form our minds and hearts each day.